


Grodd and Father

by LinneanSpora314



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-08
Updated: 2015-10-25
Packaged: 2018-03-29 16:07:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3902461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinneanSpora314/pseuds/LinneanSpora314
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Unbeknownst to Eiling, Harrison Wells/Eobard Thawne always did have a special bond with that menace of a gorilla...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Behind Bars

“Well Harrison, how is our furry friend today? I do hope you’re taking good care of him?” The rather imposing shadow of General Eiling suddenly loomed across the doorway. 

Harrison Wells looked up slowly from his dimly-lit desk and smiled a strained smile. Inwardly he was berating the rather lax lab security - one of those days he must remember to have a word with the new guy, Michael, or whatever his name is, to at least give him a heads up before the next visitor strolls calmly and unannounced onto S.T.A.R. labs premises, even if it was the general himself. _Especially_ if it was the general himself. 

In truth Eiling had always made Wells nervous - his very presence was enough to make the hairs on the back of his head just that bit stiffer and more attentive. Still, one must keep up pretences, and Harrison Wells of all people, was already doing a masterful job at that on a daily basis… 

“Oh Hello Wade. I appreciate you coming down personally. As I said before, he is indeed a fine specimen, the best I’ve seen so far. I daresay we’ll be able to get some positive results soon enough.”

“Good, now that _is_ good.” Eiling mused, as he took a step forward into the room. His face glowing pale, menacing and expressionless in the moonlight - that had crept its way indoors through the half-open skylight. 

“You mean Grodd…?” Offered Harrison, making a feeble attempt at a joke. He even initiated a chuckle in a vain attempt to break the ice.

“Why?” Eiling’s eyebrows quivered upwards a little, as the only indication of his confusion.

“Well… because that’s his name.” Harrison added hastily: “Grodd…”

“Ah, I see, of course. Indeed. Nice one.” Said Eiling, pursing his lips with great difficulty into a half-smile. By then his eyes had already darted elsewhere around the room, diligently extracting all of its secrets. 

Doing his best to control his quietly growing annoyance, Harrison was thankful of the darkness, and the sanctuary offered by the night and the lateness of the hour. Not that it would have mattered anyway, for Eiling certainly did not possess the tact or the intelligence to decipher the half a dozen or so pages of calculations spread out across his desk. Quite probably, Eiling was here in search of information on Grodd’s progress, and he was probably not too particular about its nature.

“He’s actually grown a fair bit this month.” Harrison offered, feigning cheerfulness. “He’s quite the crawler too, I’m having trouble convincing him to stay still long enough for him to take his feed…”

“Why didn’t you say so before? I can bring you a case of sedatives.” Eiling began, in consternation. 

Had the room been more adequately lit, Eiling would have been alarmed to see Wells’ eyes narrow as he glared at him sternly from behind his dark-rimmed glasses. In the event, Eiling could only hear Wells’ calm and measured voice declare from somewhere amid the darkness: “Now I don’t think that would not be a good idea, as we want to maximize the capacity of his young brain, don’t we?”

Eiling pondered this for a moment, before conceding: “Well, yes, you always did know best Harrison.” 

And then there was that strained silence between two men who had evidently nothing more to say to each other. 

The general took off his crumpled cap and scratched the top of his head, putting the cap back on he remembered the purpose of his trip. He rummaged in his rucksack and pulled out a long thin blue box which he then proceeded to dump on Harrison’s desk, atop the pages of equations and Feynman diagrams. Proudly he opened it up to reveal its contents. Neatly lining the interiors of the box, were rows of transparent bottles, each encasing a milky liquid labeled: “Formula-K005”. “B’fore I go, this is for you, a fresh batch made this morning. Should be enough for a week or so, just give me a call when you run out.”

As Eiling’s heavy-booted footsteps retreated down the corridor, he would be completely oblivious to the torrent of mental abuse Harrison Wells was sending his way. _Too bad you’re not telepathic._

********

 

A little while later, left alone to his thoughts once more, Harrison was peering into the Cage. Beyond the sturdy parallel iron bars the fuzzy black outline of a small creature was discernible within the brooding shadows.

Harrison turned the key gently and let himself inside. He slid down beside baby gorilla K005 known otherwise as Grodd, and watched as the faint outline of its body rose and fell rhythmically with the gentle sound of contented snoring. 

Somewhat restlessly, he fumbled the bottle of formula he was clutching in his right hand. A shallow layer of froth had formed at the interface where the milky liquid met the air. Harrison eyed the froth suspiciously. Squeezing a sizeable drop of the stuff onto his wrist, he licked it clean - savouring every drop in earnest. Yes, it was milky, but… there was also a lingering, unpleasant bitter taste that he could not quite place.

Suddenly something warm and furry stirred and wrapped itself around his ankles, Harrison looked down: a pair of beady black gorilla eyes stared back at him. Stifling a yawn, the ball of fur at his feet snuggled even closer, and with an outstretched paw reached expectantly for the bottle in Harrison’s hand.


	2. Evolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harrison is teaching Grodd how to count, and also sign language.
> 
> At least for now, they both still like their bananas.

“Uhmm okay, but don’t you think you’ve had enough…??” Harrison asked his furry friend for what must have been the third time that day. 

The fifteen month old gorilla who had by then clambered onto Harrison’s shoulders, grunted his discontent. The little chap, who answered only to the name of Grodd, wrapped his left paw playfully around Harrison’s neck, and demanded to be fed more of the appetizing banana mush. 

_How had it come to this?_ The man sitting there in the middle of the cage mused to himself: _“The great Harrison Wells, nay the greater Eobard Thawne, was sat here in the all this filth - and at great risk of crumpling his shirt and suit, … peeling bananas for a gorilla.”_

“Well you know Grodd, this is your fifth… FIFTH banana, and it’s not even midday yet!!” Harrison exclaimed, trying unsuccessfully to unseat the petulant animal who was currently attached to his head. 

“And we know now don’t we” He continued, more gently now, “that five comes after FOUR”. Holding out four fingers, he repeated “FOUR”, ensuring the message got through.

“And what does FOUR come after Grodd?” Harrison prompted a little further, doing his best to fend off the furry arm that was trying to steal pieces banana off him. 

Straining to look at him face to face, Harrison didn’t get his answer, only a careless shrug. If indeed gorillas can shrug…

“Ah… ah, no no bad Grodd, you don’t get your banana until you answer my question.” To drive home the point, Harrison broke off a sizeable chunk of the stuff, and proceeded to pop it into his own mouth, chewing noisily.

The growling over his shoulder intensified, until eventually three fat gorilla fingers were thrust in front of his face. 

“Very good! Here this one’s for you!” Said Harrison, breaking into a broad grin.

As documented meticulously in his personal logs, Harrison was impressed by the extraordinary progress his pupil had been making over the last couple of weeks: not only has he learned the gestures for his own name in sign language, he has also grasped the powerful concept of numerical increments. And at least in so far as food was concerned, the importance of bargaining and reward…

Suddenly there was a purposeful prod on his shoulder. 

“Ouch Grodd, that actually hurt!” Harrison started to protest, only stopping short when he felt an all-imposing question form within his consciousness: 

_“but if i’m Grodd, who are you?”_

Taken slightly aback, Harrison pondered the question for a moment, not daring to look at the pair of beady eyes that were staring back at him, expecting an answer. He recalled the façade of his glasses, which were at this moment safely stowed away in his front pocket… 

“I’m….well to you, I am F.A.T.H.E.R.” he decided. 

And signing with his opened palm raised skywards, Harrison gently touched his forehand with his thumb.


	3. Instability

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just as we do, he feels joy, happiness, sadness and despair… and in those moments of perfect lucidity he understands exactly what or _who_ , was responsible for such feelings. 
> 
> He was not a scientist’s furry plaything, nor a four character code name, he was _alive_ , as much as you or I… yet, when will Eiling realise this?

The vast angular expanse of S.T.A.R. labs was still submerged deep within the shadows and the melancholy of night. In an office somewhere in the heart of the facility, only two sources of sound were discernible.

One, was the gentle rhythmic sound of human breathing emanating from a lone figure who had dozed off in his chair. Indistinct shapes and pinpoints of light could be seen on the display monitor beside him on the table top. The live feed was also be accompanied by audio…

From this second source too breathing could be heard, only this one was much louder, heavier, erratic, and altogether disturbing, for it had belonged to an encaged gorilla who was trapped in a nightmare of its own creation. 

For the third time that week since they had begun the drug trials, Harrison Wells had committed himself to spending the night in the solitude of his lab, with four blank faces of wall for company and the haunting moans of a restless gorilla through the speakers. 

Suddenly the raspy breathing gave way to a loud heart-wrenching shriek, and Harrison was jolted awake. Seconds later and that painful sound was still throbbing its way from eardrum to brain. 

Rubbing his eyes he peered at the screen to make sure the poor creature was okay. Under the dim illumination of the surveillance camera he could just about make out Grodd’s outline - that furry ball of suffering cowering there in the corner of his metal prison cell.

 

 _In the despair of his dreams Grodd felt like he was drowning_ ; desperately he tried to emerge from beneath the surface of the water, desperately he tried to escape from the thick green oily liquid in which his entire body was enveloped. No matter how much he thrashed his limbs around he would only find himself sinking further and further… 

He looked down and tugged on the chunky metal chains that bound his feet, and that was binding his very soul. 

 

 _Behind the screen_ , Harrison watched helplessly as the young gorilla let out some more hearty growls, before finally rolling over and settling down into a deep sleep. 

Harrison sighed and sat back in his chair. Arms folded in wordless anger, he vowed to himself: “ _bad move Wade, you really don’t want to mess with me…_ ”

********

It was no more than two weeks ago since Wade Eiling made yet another unwanted appearance in S.T.A.R. labs, and he had come bearing a fresh supply of gorilla health supplement.

And that was when the nightmares began.

Harrison berated himself for having been so preoccupied with the accelerator to find time to feed Grodd himself. Otherwise, he might have noticed the uncharacteristic rowdiness, the lack of appetite, the unpredictable mood swings, and a sudden desire to be comforted…

When he finally got around to paying his furry friend a visit he was startled when the poor thing leapt at him and eagerly wrapped its arms around his neck: perhaps, there was already an accepted terminology for this — _attachment behaviour_ perhaps? As he tried to soothe the terrified gorilla in his arms Harrison didn’t much care — for whatever it was called, it had not prepared him for the indescribable outpouring of emotion he would feel at that moment. 

For minutes, he just held him there, feeling the warmth of the clump of black fur that was stirring in his grasp, and did not let go until the trembling stopped and the grumbling became a murmur, and the murmur became gentle, contented snoring.

Later that day the test results came through from the lab. As suspected, Eiling’s so-called health supplements contained much more than a trace of hallucinogen…

Then there ensued a telephone conversation which Harrison would much rather forget.

As Eiling’s voice sounded down the line he could almost _hear_ the smirking that always comes with it. With a sentiment which Harrison could only describe as triumphant, Eiling was pointing out at painful length how a human or indeed primate mind, thus weakened, would become that much more suggestible and susceptible, and so much more conducive to interrogation purposes. 

"Oh Harrison, and this is just the beginning..." Eiling had assured him: "... grander plans await that gorilla of yours!"

Harrison closed his tired eyes, and tried to banish from his mind’s eye all visions of Eiling’s cold, ugly, smirking face.

********

Somewhere above, dawn was breaking.

With his feet on the table, and arms still crossed, Harrison was dreaming of a different Time; one hundred and fifty years from now, there would be no General Eiling, only the beautiful freedom of a place called home, where he would always feel loved. 

In the serenity of the F.A.T.H.E.R., young Grodd too had found his peace. Even if it was just for a little while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes - Grodd is now telepathic!


	4. Condition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Grodd acquired his hatred for bananas. 
> 
> With some graphic descriptions.

Behind the transparent walls separating the lab and the adjoining room the sharp suited figure of Harrison Wells stood motionless. His serene, commanding presence would betray little of the intense feelings of guilt and conflict that had just invaded him. With an attentiveness he could not understand, and angst he could not fathom, he watched in silence and helplessly as the two men in white coats on the other side of the wall continued to experiment on his gorilla.

_His gorilla._ Worse still, they were _his_ men - staff under his employment, whom he had explicitly authorized to carry out the lengthy procedure. 

He was immensely grateful that in such a backward century as the one in which he was now trapped, they at least had one-way mirrors. 

Cocooned in the safety of darkness, he was not visible to the brilliantly-lit scientists next door, who were busily inserting blunt electrodes beneath matted clumps of gorilla fur. More importantly, he would not be seen by Grodd’s beady black eyes, nor be judged harshly by a highly intelligent, telepathic Gorilla mind, and Grodd would never know of his blatant act of betrayal. 

 

Betrayal was the exact word Eiling had selected, and it was as apt as it was hurtful. The last time Eiling graced S.T.A.R. labs with his presence was when he had laid down his tantalising offer, and of course he was once again his usual charming self. 

“Look here Harrison,” He said, slamming a large plastic file onto the desk. “this is a done deal! _You_ are desperate to build this all-singing all-dancing particle accelerator of yours, yet you gotta have all this equipment and tech, and the Army’s got all the tech you’d ever want and more! I’m going all out here and preparing to give all this to you, on the one simple condition that you get your guys to perform a couple of measly experiments on your pet gorilla! What are you afraid of Harrison - that some dumb animal will pass judgement on your betrayal?”

In the heat of the moment, Eobard actually agreed with Eiling, and hated himself for it. 

Yet standing here now watching the barbarity unfold before his very eyes, Harrison was not so sure. In the past few years of his insufferable temporal imprisonment his conscience was growing increasingly alarmed by the extents he would find himself going in order to secure that passage home. 

Was it really all worth it? The people whose lives he had cut short, and the others he had ruined? Here he was again, having decreed that the gorilla was a worthy sacrifice for accelerating his own selfish timetable. And it was no ordinary gorilla — for Grodd he was beautiful and unique, and they don’t make them like that no more, and they shan’t in the future either, for he’s been there too…

On the other side of the glass, one of the men readied the scope, and adjusted the parameters on his iPad. The other peeled open a newly ripened banana, and offered it to Grodd. The long-suffering animal eyed at the offending fruit with a mixture of longing and suspicion. 

Tentatively Grodd extended a weary paw towards the stick of yellow that had given him and his stomach so much satisfaction in the past. As soon as he bit into the banana and regaled in his mellow fruity aromas he could hear that sound again. Loud piercing and powerful gunshots which made his blood boil and veins pop. 

He felt the sudden pounding of his heart, and with it a sudden rising rage and anxiety that he could not control. By heavens he hated that sound. The jarring frequencies split the side of his brain like a chainsaw. Whenever he could hear that insufferable noise he would feel small, disorientated, and became incapable of clarity of judgement. 

And suddenly the sweet tender taste of banana mush would turn into bitter vile in his mouth. 

The poor starving animal let out a gut-wrenching howl, and along with it a mouthful of half-ingested banana: heartbroken in the knowledge that once again he would be denied his feed. 

Rushing to record the freshly generated data, the white-coated humans around him purred with excitement and congratulated each other over the completion if yet another successful trial run of their experiment.

 

Harrison could not bear to watch. He turned his head and took off glasses, wiping away the loose strands of hair snaking across his forehand. 

_Father? Is that you?_

Harrison flinched when he heard the words, and stepped further back into the shadows in alarm. 

_He cannot possibly know I am here._

_He can’t, could he?_

Suddenly he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. He was relieved to find it was only Caitlin. 

“Hey…” She asked. “Are you okay? It’s not your fault you know. We really don’t want to pick fights with Eiling and his men. Honestly I don’t know what I’d have done differently in your situation.” 

Harrison only managed a weak smile of gratitude. 

_Oh Caitlin, my dear Caitlin, if only you knew the half of it._

“We’re having lunch on the roof by the way, it’s a glorious day outside, you should come join us. Ronnie said he ordered Big Belly Burgers!” Caitlin added, giving her boss a knowing wink, and slipped out as silently as she had come.

Harrison trailed her exit with his eyes. The feeling of guilt, which was by then already heightened, threatened to overwhelm.

He looked back sadly toward the howling mass of black fur behind the glass. One thought he could hear, loud and clear, he was sure of it, if indeed thoughts could be heard that is. 

Uttered along all wavelengths of neural signal were the words: _Grodd hates banana._

Harrison felt a twang of lust. Lust for that wordless bonding between Primate and Man over the creamy sweetness of a shared banana, that shall be no more.

_No more._

Eiling will know of his decision first thing tomorrow.


	5. The night before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set some years after the events of the previous chapter, and on the night before the particle accelerator incident.

In her calm, often understated manner Caitlin whistled softly to herself as she tended to her charge. It was not a particularly melodious tune, or even if it was Caitlin was not that proficient a whistler. Nonetheless she was happy, and she wanted to communicate it - for the mighty particle accelerator would be turned on this time tomorrow, and all these years of hard work, tedious experiments, having to put up with the smarmy and insufferable Hartley Rathaway, and the relentless battles with one General Eiling, would finally pay off.

What’s more, she and Ronnie had even set a wedding date. 

Some days she would still wake up early in the morning anxiously trying to determine if her life thus far was in fact real - could she really be so lucky to have found her intellectual equal, her best friend, and her life partner, all in one? They said women who choose to stay in science will never make it, or if they do, they’ll never find (time for) love… and here she was proving them wrong yet again. 

She couldn’t help but smile a small knowing smile to herself as she set down the tray on the floor. Something black and hairy stirred silently in the shadows. Soon enough, the shadow itself drew closer, overlaying the gratings of light created by the vertical bars of the cage. 

A large black paw extended towards the large white bag with the conspicuous Big Belly Burger logo. Eagerly, Grodd sniffed the contents.

“Dr Wells decided to give you a treat today…” Caitlin offered, by way of explanation, adding: “But he said you’ll have to eat the other things too.”

Grodd dug a hairy paw into the bag and retrieved his scrumptious snack, all the while making appreciative grunting noises. He then proceeded to fold the wrapper into a crane, and offered it to Caitlin. Slightly taken aback by the gesture, Caitlin mused that no doubt this must be another one of the many essential life skills Harrison had taught him in his spare time…

When he was finally done eating, the gorilla half retreated back into the shadows, leaving only his right shoulder exposed to the scrutiny of the lights. 

On today of all days, Caitlin was feeling particularly chirpy - so much so that she ignored her fears and crouched down nervously beside Grodd, and looked him up and down. Despite all that he has been through, this gorilla was growing up to be a very fine specimen indeed. His fur coat was beautifully dark and resplendent, his temperament quirky and gentle - that is, if General Eiling was not anywhere in the vicinity. 

Caitlin wondered to herself just how smooth must his coat be - by the way in which it shone in the luminous light of his cell she reasoned it must be very… As her hand hovered two centimetres above the oily black fur, she hesitated, unsure how her gesture might be received. 

“Go on, he won’t mind. Trust me.” A familiar voice said behind her in a hushed tone. 

Caitlin turned in surprise to see the great Harrison Wells walking towards them. 

“Here, I’ll show you.” He knelt down beside her, gently taking her hand, and placing it on Grodd’s soft hairy shoulders, began to stroke the animal up and down along the perfect alignment of the hairs.

It felt every bit as smooth as Caitlin had imagined. 

Grodd cooed and growled softly, vocalizing his happiness. Caitlin shuddered involuntarily as a powerful hairy arm looped itself around her shoulder. 

“Shhhh. He won’t hurt you.” Harrison assured her, smiling. “See, he rather likes it.”

In that moment, Caitlin let herself succumb to that furry warming embrace, to the gentle rise and fall of Harrison’s breath on her neck. All was well with this world, with her world. In that shared connection between man and beast, there was a frozen tranquility, free from pain and torture, war and consequence, and far from the inevitability of life and death.

 

********

Twenty minutes later, Harrison was alone in the cage with Grodd once more - of course Caitlin understood, she always did. He stood there staring silently into the eyes of his telepathic friend, just like the countless times before… except tomorrow? Tomorrow he switches on the accelerator. And tomorrow too the accelerator shall explode. The evolution of Grodd had gone hand in hand with the evolution of his particle accelerator; sometimes, after drowning his woes in a glass or two of his finest Scotch, Harrison could not even be sure of which accomplishment he was most proud.

But tonight was the beginning of the end, almost a decade and a half later, he might finally be homeward bound. He hoped dearly that Grodd would be okay without him - he was sure he would be. After all, he was taught by the best. 

Eobard steps outside the iron cage for the last time, turns, and leaves the door unlocked.


End file.
